Sári Fedák

The native form of this personal name is Fedák Sarolta Klára Mária. This article uses the Western name order.
Sári Fedák

Sári Fedák (26 October 1879 in Beregszász, Hungary (now Berehove, Ukraine) – 25 May 1955 in Budapest, Hungary) was a Hungarian actress and singer, one of the most well-known prima donnas of her time. According to American journalist and non-fiction writer Richard Traubner, Fedák and Sári Petráss remain "the two best-remembered Hungarian female operetta stars of all time".[1]

Life

She studied acting with Szidi Rákosi until 1899, beginning her career the same year with the Magyar Színház theatre company. Beginning in 1900 she played in Pozsony (now Bratislava), and in several theatres in Budapest, including Népszínház, Király Színház, and Vígszínház.

Following World War I, she spoke out against the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Later, during the era of the Hungarian Soviet Republic she agitated for joining the Red Army. After the fall of the Republic, Fedák fled to Vienna, but was captured and held in prison at Wiener Neustadt for a short time. As she supported the Republic, she could play in only Vienna from 1920-21. She made appearances in Berlin and Paris in 1921 and 1925. In 1934, she toured several American cities.

In 1922 she married writer Ferenc Molnár, after a six-year relationship. The couple divorced in 1925 or 1926, after "he had accused her of intimacy with 42 gentlemen, and she had replied in kind with a list of 142 ladies".[2] In 1923, she became a member of the Fővárosi Operettszínház theatre. Starting in 1940, she was the leading actress in the Új Magyar Színház theatre.

In 1944, working at the Donausender radio station in Vienna, she rallied for Hungary to continue the fight in World War II on the side of Nazi Germany. For this act, she was sentenced to eight months in prison after the war, and she was banned from playing in theatres for three years. The court order broke her career: she never appeared on stage again. After being released from prison, she moved to Nyáregyháza, retiring from active life.

Fedák died in 1955, aged 75, and was interred in Budapest's Farkasréti Cemetery.

Selected filmography

References

  1. ↑ Traubner, p. 331
  2. ↑ May 1927 Time magazine article referencing Fedak

Sources

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